


Holding out for a Hero(ine)

by Liquid_Sky



Category: Tekken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Female Protagonist, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Strong Female Characters, Suggestive Themes, some sexual humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-09-06 13:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8752777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liquid_Sky/pseuds/Liquid_Sky
Summary: Everyone knows that Kazuya died at the end of the second tournament. Jun isn't convinced. After a year of constant dreams make her believe he's alive, she teams up with her polar opposite and some unlikely allies to uncover the truth.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a Tekken AU. I'm starting at the end of the second tournament as that is where it will diverge from canon. My intention is to write a light-hearted story with some dramatic moments and to pay homage to the awesome female characters that are often overshadowed by men.
> 
> Just as a tiny warning, the light-hearted part begins after the prologue.
> 
> This story is completely unrelated to my other WIP, "The Hardest Truth."

Jun Kazama walked down the wide hallway decorated with portraits of baseball legends, Olympic athletes and King of Iron Fist Tournament fighters, but she did not spare them a glance. Her focus was on the door at the end of the hallway, the men's locker room. The corridor was empty, as all spectators, reporters and media personnel were in the stands or in the arena eager for the next fight to begin. The echo of her footsteps on the gray, tile floor was uncomfortably loud in her ears; her breathing, even her heartbeat seemed louder than normal.

Jun felt her chest tighten as she neared the door.

She saw it open suddenly and Lee Chaolan emerged from it dressed quite differently than she was accustomed to seeing him, in jeans, a black leather vest, and a pair of black boots instead of an expensive suit. He shook his head slightly then slammed the door behind him. He wore an angry expression which suddenly changed to a friendly smile the moment he saw her.

"Miss Kazama," he bowed slightly to Jun, his silver hair swaying gracefully, "here to wish Kazuya good luck?" He asked as he adjusted his black fighting gloves.

Jun attempted a smile but couldn't manage it and nodded instead. "...I-I am."

There was a short, awkward silence as he looked at her almost expectantly, then he shook his head and laughed lightly. "He's in one of his moods, I'm afraid. So you should think twice before going in."

Jun smiled nervously as she saw the same expectant expression on his face.

Lee bowed once more. "I'll see you after."

At that moment she realized that he was on his way to the arena to fight his father. "Oh, um, good luck." The words felt clumsy on her tongue, she wished she could have a drink of water.

"Thank you." He gave her a forced smile before turning toward the exit.

Jun inhaled deeply and steadied her nerves, she wiped her clammy hands on her white, denim shorts and forced herself to open the locker room door.

The place was unnecessarily large, more gray tile as well as dark, polished wood and steel made up the cavernous room. There were television sets mounted on every corner, and wooden benches along the floors in front of the lockers.

She spotted Kazuya at the far end of the room with his back to the door. Wearing white gi pants and red foot guards, he was dressed for his fight, ready to face the victor of the penultimate fight of the King of Iron Fist Tournament II.

Jun had a sick feeling in her stomach when she realized he was whispering angrily to himself. She was certain that he was arguing with Devil, the demon that had possessed him since he was a small boy.

_It ends today, child._

Jun heard Angel's comforting voice in her head, she was accustomed to hearing it in her dreams, but as she stood awake she found it somewhat unnerving.

_Your love and influence have weakened the creature's hold on Kazuya. He will soon be free, now do as I instructed._

Jun's eyes widened as she felt the divine being touch her forehead. She felt a surge of power flowing through her, a feeling akin to icy water and electricity combined, it made her stomach churn and heightened her every sense.

Kazuya's muscular body visibly tensed. He turned slowly toward Jun, red irises stared into her brown eyes. They were burning with such hate that she involuntarily took a step backward.

"Do not falter, child." She was startled to see Angel standing next to her in all her glory. Blonde, clad in white and radiating a beauty that was clearly not human, but her most stunning feature was undoubtedly the majestic, silvery-white wings folded neatly behind her.

"I told him that you would betray us," Kazuya spat in a voice that was thicker and raspier than usual. Jun knew it was not his own, the creature was controlling him.

"I'm not betraying him, I'm helping him," Jun said resolutely.

It was not Kazuya, she told herself, it was Devil using Kazuya's body. He looked directly at Angel but didn't move, Jun could feel that he was afraid, but the fear was nothing compared to the anger, the hate that threatened to envelop them, to suffocate them. He remained immobile as his eyes narrowed.

The door suddenly opened and Lee entered the locker room again. He stopped mid-stride as he took in the scene before him, his expression was blank as he looked slowly from Angel to Jun and finally to the red-eyed Kazuya.

That was when Kazuya attacked.

He sprinted toward Angel and rammed into her with his shoulder sending her stumbling backward. "No games," Angel spoke through clenched teeth in a voice that was frightening in its own right. A ray of light, a laser almost, emerged from the blue jewel adorning her forehead and hit Kazuya square in the chest, in the middle of the large scar that his father had given him when he was only a child.

Kazuya's eyes went wide as Angel moved her hands in pulling motion. Jun could feel the force, the raw power radiating from the divine being who continued to pull at what seem to be nothing, but Jun could see the exertion on her face. Her brow was furrowed and her lips tight, every muscle in her lithe body seemed to be working.

Kazuya tried to walk backward but it was as if Angel were holding him in place, he struggled futilely for a few seconds until Angel let out a roar and gave one final pull.

Jun's mouth opened slightly and her eyes widened as a purple light emerged from Kazuya's body.

Kazuya's eyes were instantly their normal shade of brown but they had a vacant look. He stood motionless as the light began to transform into a purple-skinned creature with leathery wings and black horns, he bared his white fangs and narrowed his red eyes as he launched at Angel.

"Do it now, child!" She commanded.

"Lee!" Jun called to the silver-haired man, he blinked and looked at her as Devil unleashed a vicious uppercut that missed Angel's chin by less than a millimeter. "Come to me!"

Lee wasted no time and did as he was told, Jun took his hand and guided him toward the immobile Kazuya. Once she was standing with the two men Jun inhaled deeply and closed her eyes ignoring the brutal fight that was taking place mere feet from where they stood.

Jun instantly felt a calm around her heart, she felt energy swell within her, it filled her being and slowly spread from her. She imagined a soap bubble, transparent and colorful at the same time, she imagined the thin film surrounding her and the two brothers, shielding them from the fight between the two supernatural beings.

"What's happening?" Lee asked softly as Angel grabbed Devil by the neck and brought her knee up to his ribs, Devil had clearly felt it, but he managed to push his attacker away and dealt a fierce spin kick that hit Angel in the shoulder and sent her staggering backward. "I feel like I'm trapped in plastic wrap."

"It's to protect us from-" At that moment a third, red eye opened on Devil's forehead and a red laser shot forth, hitting Jun in the neck, fortunately, the shield that she had cast prevented it from doing any damage.

It had obviously been a mistake driven by rage, by the hate that Devil felt toward Jun. It turned her stomach into knots, but she knew that staying calm was paramount, it was the only way to maintain the shield.

Angel took advantage of Devil's lapse in judgment and flew toward him executing a roundhouse kick to his head. Devil lost his balance and nearly fell over but recovered just in time to block a second roundhouse then grabbing Angel by her ankle spun her quickly and sent her crashing against the lockers.

Angel growled as she stood up paying no mind to the broken wood and warped metal behind her. With inhuman speed she launched at Devil, her teeth bared as she executed a combination of kicks and punches that drove the demon into the wall breaking a television set and several more lockers in the process.

Angel hopped backward and shot her laser straight into Devil's third eye, the creature slumped to the floor immobile. She touched her fingers to the jewel on her forehead and to Jun's utter amazement an arched, stone doorway opened in front of her. It was simply an arch, she could she the locker room through it, but Angel walked up to Devil, grabbed him by his ankles and hurtled him through it where he disappeared.

"You did well, child," Angel said approvingly, "you should have enough power left to heal his mind. I thank you for your help." She turned toward the doorway.

"Wait!" Jun called to her, Angel raised an eyebrow in what Jun could have sworn was impatience. "...I-I um, what happens now?"

"What happens now is no longer my concern, my mission was to save Kazuya's soul and I have, I have no more business in this world." Angel stepped into the doorway and disappeared with it.

"What?" Lee shook his head and muttered to himself. "That did not happen. It did not happen."

Jun closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she pictured the shield sliding off their bodies and gathering itself into a ball of light in her hands. With her eyes still closed she turned toward Kazuya and rested her hands on his temples letting what remained of the energy that Angel had given her flow into him. When she was sure nothing remained she opened her eyes and looked at him.

Nothing had changed.

Kazuya remained vacant and immobile. Jun decided to give his mind and body some time to adjust or do whatever they needed to do. Lee began pacing and muttering to himself. Jun stood in the same spot for a few minutes staring at Kazuya, looking for any change but she found none.

"Kazuya, look at me." Jun's own pleading voice sounded strange to her, higher than usual, strained. "Look at me."

The young woman took her lover's hand and was met with the rough leather of his red, fighting glove, wanting real contact she moved her other hand to his face and slowly caressed his cheek, then ran her fingers through his jet-black hair. She felt panic as she looked into his eyes and saw no change. He had been standing in the same position for minutes doing nothing, his eyes wide open while seeing nothing.

"That _cannot_ have happened." She heard Lee's say for what she could have sworn was the tenth time. "It can't be real."

His breathing was rapid. Jun turned to look at him and for the first time since she'd met him, she saw that he was struggling to maintain his composure.

"It happened, Lee," Jun said as calmly as she could. "You saw it, I saw it, it was real." She tried to pull Kazuya toward the bench but he didn't move an inch.

Jun was sympathetic to how Lee was feeling, he had witnessed an angel extract a demon from his brother's body. He was taking it better than most would have.

"Help me move him to the bench." Jun's voice was firm, more even. As she looked pointedly at Lee he seemed to calm himself somewhat and she saw him take his brother's right arm, between them both, they were able to walk him to a bench.

"Sit down," Jun said softly, to her surprise Kazuya did as he was asked and she felt cautiously optimistic. Lee was standing with his eyes closed, slowly breathing in and out. "I'm sorry, you weren't supposed to be here," she said sincerely.

"I...I forgot something." Lee's voice was calm. He quickly surveyed the damage and she saw his eyes light up as he fixed his gaze on one of the untouched lockers. He quickly strode to it and opened it hastily, he extracted a silver necklace that he fastened around his neck. "It was a gift from Anna." He touched it lightly before making his way toward his brother.

"Your fight," Jun said as she looked at the nearest television set, the volume was off but it was tuned to a channel that was showing a live broadcast of the tournament. She could see Heihachi Mishima standing in the middle of the arena wearing the same black gi that he had in all his fights and sporting the same ridiculous hair and mustache. He had an angry look on his face as he folded his muscular arms across his broad chest.

"It's starting in a couple of minutes." Lee's voice was calm and confident once more.

"Will you be all right after everything-"

Lee laughed lightly. "Growing up around those two you learn how to bury everything and focus on the matter at hand...for the time being at least."

Jun nodded before turning to Kazuya. "Can you hear me?" Her voice was soft as she took his hand again. "I don't know what to do."

"I'll call a medic on my way out." Lee offered.

"No." They both gasped as they heard Kazuya's deep voice. "No medics."

"Kazuya," Jun felt a wave of relief wash over her, "are you in pain?"

There was no answer, but his eyes were now closed, she took it as a good sign.

Lee ran a hand through his hair, "I have to go, if I'm late I'll be disqualified, I'll come back as soon as it's done."

Jun nodded. "Go, I'll take care of him."

Lee sighed and looked at Kazuya before walking briskly toward the exit.

Jun closed her eyes and when she heard him walk out the door she laid her head on Kazuya's shoulder enjoying the closeness and feeling grateful that he was alive and seemed to be recovering. Minutes must have passed because when she opened her eyes and looked at the screen she saw that the fight in the arena was already in progress.

She watched as father and son exchanged blows, but to her dismay, she saw that it was not going in Lee's favor. She looked at Kazuya and saw that there was no change, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even but he had not moved. She turned to the television in time to see Heihachi execute a brutal kick to his son's head. Lee fell face-down seemingly unconscious or maybe just in too much pain to move. Heihachi didn't care, he continued to kick him even though it was obvious that he wasn't getting up. Jun closed her eyes as she felt her stomach churn.

 _What now?_ Kazuya was the only one left to fight, everyone else had already been disqualified but he was obviously in no condition to face off against anyone.

"Did it happen? Is this real?" Kazuya's voice startled Jun, she turned to him wide-eyed.

"It happened." She said softly.

"Is he...gone?" There was a hint of sadness in his voice, he was referring to Devil, she was sure.

"Yes, he's gone."

He stood up slowly. "I feel strange."

"Don't get up too fast."

"I didn't." He said through clenched teeth.

"Are you in pain?"

He shook his head. "I feel fine."

"You said you feel strange."

Kazuya sighed impatiently. "If you'd had a demon pulled out of your body you would too."

He sounded almost back to his usual self, but there was something different in his tone.

"What can I do?" She wanted to hold him to at least take his hand but she didn't know how he would react.

"...You did enough." His tone was flat and she saw his body shift slightly away from her.

"Are you angry with me?" She felt like a little girl asking that question and suddenly realized how self-serving it was.

Kazuya hesitated a moment. "...I don't know...I could be."

"I'm-"

"I don't want to talk about anything right now." She knew he was right, she needed to give him time. "Did Lee see everything?" Kazuya asked after a short silence. "I thought I heard him."

"He did…"

"Where did he go?"

Jun didn't want to tell him knowing the issue that it would bring up but she didn't have a choice. "...He went to face your father in the arena."

Kazuya's eyes widened. "The tournament...I…" He looked toward the corner at the screen, the channel was showing recaps of the fight. "I knew he would fail." There was no mockery or anger in his voice, only a sadness that she had never heard before.

"He fought well," Jun assured him.

"That doesn't matter," Kazuya slowly shook his head, "his skill is no match for Heihachi's hate or his desire to regain the Zaibatsu."

She shook her head. _That God-forsaken company._ Jun felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw the hardened look on his face as he adjusted his red gloves.

"You can't fight him!" Her voice was louder than she expected and judging by the look he gave her it was not appreciated. "Not now." She finished softly.

Kazuya scoffed. "Then when?"

"I don't know…Postpone it," she suggested, hoping against hope that he would accept, "it's still your tournament, you can do whatever you want, you can call it off if you really have to."

"Call it off?" He sounded offended, almost angry. "And look like a coward in front of the entire world?"

"Not call it off, I'm sorry I said that, just postpone it until tomorrow, get some rest-"

He shook his head. "You don't think I can win without- you don't hink I can win by myself."

"It isn't that at all, I just think you should give yourself time to recover from...from what you just went through. Wait until tomorrow, please."

"If I do that he will have everyone in the media, everyone on the board of directors against me and-"

Jun raised her arms in frustration. "Since when do you care what the media or anyone else thinks?"

"I don't know!" He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. "...I don't know, but it's what you wanted, isn't it?" His tone was accusatory, but Jun realized that it was justified, it _was_ what she had wanted.

"I'm sorry."

Kazuya sighed impatiently. "Don't say that. I can't talk to you about this. You weren't raised by Heihachi, you will never understand." He sat on the bench. "Did Lee look like he was in a well enough condition to talk?"

Jun looked away. "I don't know...I closed my eyes."

"Yet another reason why I can't talk to you about it." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need you to do something for me, go see if Lee is well enough to talk, if he's not let me know when he will be."

Jun looked at him feeling as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off her shoulders. If he wanted to talk to Lee maybe it meant that they could come up with a plan together, Lee was always the voice of reason, maybe he could convince Kazuya to postpone the fight. She looked up at the clock above the door, there was more than half an hour left before the final fight was set to start. Once she was in the medical room she could bring a medic back and hopefully between her and Lee they could convince Kazuya to be examined.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Will you just hurry?" He was as impatient as usual, that part was obviously his own personality showing.

Jun ran out the door and into the hallway. She took one of the smaller corridors to the right not quite remembering where the medical room was, she was thankful when she saw the sign pointing her in the correct direction. It was at the end of the hall, adjacent to the X-ray room. The door was open and she could hear a woman's soothing voice that she immediately recognized as belonging to Anna Williams.

As Jun was about to enter the room a medic stepped out.

"How is he?" She needed to see him but didn't want to overstep her boundaries if he and Anna were having a private moment.

"He has a mild concussion, dislocated shoulder, fractured ribs and...I forget what else." The man shrugged indifferently. "He'll live," he said before checking his watch and walking toward the X-ray room.

Jun peeked in just to make doubly sure that she wasn't interrupting. Lee was lying on his back on top of the stretcher with his right hand over his eyes. He was only wearing his jeans and boots. Anna stood next to him lightly running her fingers through his hair. Jun noted the worried expression she wore, it was not something she had seen in Anna before.

Everything was so different...surreal.

"I hope I'm not interrupting…" Jun said softly.

Lee removed his hand from his face, bruises were forming already, he had a cut on his cheekbone and she could see blood in his hair and on his pants. He looked at her with such a sad expression that Jun felt a knot in her throat as she looked into his eyes.

"I couldn't do it," Lee said in a bitter tone as he closed his eyes. "He won, he has control of everything again. With Kazuya in his current state-"

"What happened to him?" Anna asked harshly. "Lee says that he had some sort of medical episode, why are you here?" She gave Jun an accusatory look. "Why aren't you with him?"

Jun decided to ignore Anna's questions and quickly walked up to Lee's bedside. "He's not in control yet, Kazuya seems to be back to normal, if we-"

"What was it then?" Anna interrupted. "A nervous breakdown, anxiety attack?"

Jun turned toward Anna. "I don't know." Her voice had risen louder than she had intended, she gave Anna an apologetic look before she continued. "I'm going to take a medic back with me so he can examine him."

Anna scoffed. "He'll never agree to it."

"He's different now, you can't know what he's going to do?"

"Different _now_?" Anna shook her head. "As opposed to how he was an hour ago?"

"Anna," Lee spoke up, it seemed to take effort on his part, "please let Miss Kazama say what she needs to say."

"He wants to talk to you," Jun sighed. "He says he wants to fight as scheduled but I'm trying to convince him to postpone it until tomorrow. He doesn't want to but I'm hoping that if you talk to him-"

"Are you stupid, Jun Kazama?"

"Anna!" Lee looked disapprovingly at his girlfriend.

Jun gaped at her not knowing what to say. She suddenly noticed Anna's leopard print coat and leather pants, it was almost a mockery of everything Jun believed in, everything she stood for.

"How could you leave him alone?" Anna spun on her heel, her footsteps echoed loudly as she exited the room.

"I apologize on her behalf, Miss Kazama, she should not have spoken to you that way." Lee closed his eyes again.

"She's worried, I understand."

The sound of Anna's high heels on the tile floor could be heard quickly returning to the room, she was running. Jun was instantly filled with dread.

Anna stared daggers at Jun. "The fight started! Kazuya is out there fighting that piece of shit old man right now. If he isn't ready-"

Jun looked up at the clock. "But it's not set to start for another twenty-five minutes."

"It's _his_ tournament, he told them to move it up and they did." Anna shook her head again. "You shouldn't have left him alone."

"Help me up," Lee said as he tried to push himself up on his right elbow, his left shoulder was bruised and was obviously causing him pain. "The least I can do is watch."

"You don't have to go," Anna said softly. "I'll go and watch, I'll make sure the old man doesn't pull any dirty tricks."

"I have to," he said resolutely. Anna cast down her eyes and nodded.

Anna and Jun slowly helped him off the stretcher and supported him as they walked out of the medical room and toward the exit. There were no security guards around, she was sure that they were outside watching the fight. The corridor seemed interminable, Jun felt claustrophobic, she wanted to run but couldn't leave Lee behind. Her heart drummed louder and louder as they reached the door that opened into the fighting arena.

She let go of Lee's arm and stepped forward to open the door. The deafening roar of the crowd viciously attacked her eardrums. The midday sun seemed too bright and her eyes had to adjust to see what was happening.

Kazuya and Heihachi were exchanging blows. She saw Kazuya's fist collide with his father's ribs and the older man stumbled backward but quickly retaliated with a kick that hit Kazuya square in the chest, he blocked a second kick and unleashed a vicious uppercut to his father's stomach it sent Heihachi reeling, but again, he didn't fall.

"That should have been a kick," Anna whispered.

Jun agreed with her, a kick would have been much more effective.

"This isn't like him," Lee said in a worried tone as they watched Heihachi unleash a barrage of kicks that Kazuya was barely able to block, "he's being sloppy…"

Kazuya tried to recover as he attempted a kick to the side of his opponent's head, he missed as Heihachi ducked and punched Kazuya hard in the ribs.

"We have to go," Anna said in a panicked tone.

"Not yet," Lee whispered.

Anna tried to reason with Lee. "He said he would kill you if he ever saw you in Japan again."

Lee's tone was pleading. "It's not over."

"It's over," Anna said before hurrying down the hallway.

Jun moved to support Lee but he leaned against the doorframe instead.

"I'm sorry," Jun said as she watched Kazuya unsuccessfully try to block his father's fist. "I shouldn't have left him alone." Heihachi spun quickly his elbow striking his son in the chest.

"You and I both know that you couldn't have stopped him," Lee said sadly.

She heard Anna returning. She had a T-shirt for Lee to wear and she was holding her purse.

"Put this on." She said as she helped him pull it over his head. "We have to go." She whispered.

Lee's voice was barely audible. "We can't leave him."

Anna sighed in defeat and nodded slowly.

 _Can't leave him…_ Lee's words finally sunk in and Jun felt as if her lungs had suddenly run out of air. Lee and Anna knew how it would end, the only way that it _could_ end.

Her limbs were lead.

She watched the fight but her eyes were unfocused. She had to blink several times to make out the two figures in the center clearly.

She felt Lee take her hand in his. She wanted to close her fingers around it but she couldn't move, she couldn't even breathe. She watched as Heihachi dealt brutal blow after brutal blow and Kazuya could barely block, let alone retaliate. She felt her fingers grow numb as Lee's grip on her hand tightened.

They both knew what was coming.

There were no tears, she didn't scream. There was only the feeling of emptiness before it even happened. Her heart was no longer racing, its beat was slow, much slower than normal.

She watched as Heihachi put Kazuya in a headlock and twisted with all his might.

Jun didn't look away, she didn't close her eyes. She owed him at least that much.


	2. The Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now living in Yakushima, Jun is haunted by unpleasant dreams and receives an unexpected visit.

Everything was blue.

Blue was in the atmosphere, the air surrounding...

No, there was no air.

It was solid...maybe liquid, and it was surrounding him...

 _Her_. She wasn't him, she was _her_.

She was-

No, _he_ was.

He was scared, he was cold, he couldn't move, and he wanted to breathe but strangely he discovered that there was no need. He tried to move his head but just as he thought he would succeed everything went black...

Jun Kazama woke up from her nightmare, her eyes wide and her heart thumping loudly in her chest. The unusually high, spring temperatures kept the room warm and she was under her blankets, but she was cold, covered in goose bumps.

She curled herself into a tight ball as she looked at the digital clock on her bedside table, it was one a.m. She slowly began to warm up but was now completely awake. She stood up and was instantly covered in goose bumps again as her feet touched the floor. She was dressed in underwear and a worn, gray T-shirt, which should have been perfect for the weather but she felt the need to cover herself in a thick, blue robe that was draped over the headboard. She flipped the lightswitch next to the door and shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness, once her vision adjusted she looked under the bed for her white, fuzzy slippers and put them on before walking into the kitchen to make some tea.

As she set about preparing her tea, she rummaged through cabinets in her dimly-lit kitchen and tried to recall details of the dream.

It was the third time she had been awakened by it this week. It had started about two months earlier, it happened about once a week, sometimes less, but it was always the same. The fear of the unknown, the cold all around him, the inability to move and the blue liquid slowly filling every cubic inch of the…vessel? It was difficult to tell what it was.

_Glass. A tube._

The words suddenly came to Jun, but still, she couldn't be certain that it was a glass tube. Two things were certain however, the first was that there was the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped and the second was that the _he_ in the dream was Kazuya Mishima.

The dreams had started on the first night after his defeat and death at the end of the second King of Iron Fist Tournament by the hand of his own father, Heihachi Mishima.

At first, the nightmares had been about fire, anger, fear, then darkness enveloping him. They were feelings, it wasn't anything that she saw, but the feelings were somehow worse than seeing the blue prison.

After a few weeks of dreamless nights they had started once more, but they were different. Instead of darkness, there was light, intense, bright light that threatened to burn his retinas if he tried to open his eyes; and there was the pain, almost unbearable, nearly constant.

That was when she had called him, one of the only people in the world who did not hate Kazuya. Though there were no warm feelings between the two men Lee had been there holding her hand when she saw him fall; when the words on the marquee read 'The winner of the King of Iron Fist Tournament II: Heihachi Mishima.'

Lee Chaolan, Kazuya's adopted brother, the only other person who understood the type of monster that Heihachi Mishima really was. He had been forced to leave Japan under threat of death by his own father, but he had told Jun that she should call him if she ever needed anything.

It was an empty statement, she knew it even if he didn't, but there was so much sincerity in his sad eyes that she was sure he had meant well. That was why she had ventured to call him the first time that the dreams became too much, when they began to happen too often and had robbed her of her sleep. She didn't know what she had expected when she had called him, but at the end of the call she had felt embarrassed and disappointed.

His reaction had been predictable. It had been that of any rational person who heard that his dead brother's girlfriend, or whatever she had been to Kazuya, called him at three in the morning to tell him that she thought his brother was alive because she had been having strange dreams. There had been a long pause when she told Lee, then he had very politely said, that when he said he would help her with anything he had meant financially. He also said that he had loved ones, a new life, and a new business to keep safe, going to Japan was out of the question for him. Then he had very delicately, and again politely, told her that she needed to seek grief counseling.

There was genuine concern behind his words and he wasn't condescending in the least, but she had known at that moment that she couldn't count on him, that she was alone in her knowledge and that there was nothing she could do to help Kazuya. Lee had called her a week later to ask how she was feeling, but she had been too embarrassed to answer when she saw his number and she had let the answering machine do it for her. She had not spoken to him since then, nearly five months ago.

She set the teapot on the stove and sat at the small, circular table in the breakfast nook to wait for it to boil. A strange feeling gripped her at that moment, it was strong, it wasn't fear it was almost a _pull_.

She stood up and felt her heartbeat accelerate and her stomach tighten. She walked to the small living area and turned on the lights, she spotted her address book next to the telephone on the end table next to the couch and quickly made her way to it. She hesitated before picking it up; she shook her head, took hold of the address book then sat on the couch as she looked for the number.

If it was past one in the morning in Japan it was midday in New York, a decent time to call. She picked up the receiver and cradled it between her shoulder and chin as she dialed the number for the international call. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she heard the ringing. She didn't know why she was calling or what she was going to say, but she knew that she needed to call him.

 _"Hello?"_ Lee's voice answered somewhat cautiously.

"Um…" She began uncertainly. "It's Jun… Jun Kazama."

 _"Miss Kazama,"_ he said cheerfully, _"I didn't recognize your number through the caller ID, it just said Japan."_

"I left Tokyo a few months ago, I'm in Yakushima."

 _"I've been to Kagoshima several times on business, but I never had the opportunity to visit the island."_ His tone was sincere and the small talk was making her feel more relaxed. _"What have you been doing?"_

"I quit the WWWC," she said as she leaned back on the sofa, "I've been teaching here in town, I'm a substitute teacher right now, but if I find that it's something I'd like to do full time I'll take the few classes I need to become certified."

 _"I'm glad to hear that, I really am…"_ There was a slight pause, _"I was worried about you, I know I should have called again, I apologize…"_

"There's no need…" Jun sighed, "I know how I must have sounded when I called, it was all so recent…" She closed her eyes as she spoke. "I've been having more dreams, it's been happening very frequently-"

_"Miss Kazama…"_

"I'm not asking you for anything this time or trying to make you believe anything, I promise I'll seek help, real help, I just…" There was a knot in her throat that suddenly made it difficult to let the words out. "I just need you to hear it and I promise that next week I will call you with news about the therapist I'll be seeing...please."

 _"What was it?"_ Lee asked quietly.

Jun inhaled then exhaled slowly before speaking. "I feel that he's trapped in a...glass tube or casket…" The word made her throat ache. "...It's very cold and he's under blue liquid… There's no anger anymore, just fear."

There was a very long pause at the other end. _"...When you visited the Zaibatsu,"_ Lee finally said, _"did Kazuya give you a tour of the building?"_

"No, why?"

 _"I was just thinking that if you had seen some of the labs… that maybe you're subconsciously thinking about it. I'm no therapist, obviously."_ He finished quickly.

"No, I didn't see anything beyond the lobby and the top floor." Jun insisted.

 _"...I'm sorry, Miss Kazama,"_ he said sadly, _"that must be a terrible feeling. I don't know what I'd do if…"_ He sighed. _"I'm glad to hear that you're seeking help."_

"Thank you for listening, I've taken enough of your time, I need to go back to sleep, I have a class to teach in a few hours."

_"Thank you for calling and for confiding in me, I'll be expecting a call within the week. If you need anything, a new place to work or live, anything, don't hesitate to let me know, I know a lot of people in Japan who owe me favors."_

"I will, thank you, Lee."

_"Have a good night, Miss Kazama."_

Jun hung up the phone wishing that she had asked him how he was doing, he had been through a lot; he had seen it too. She felt selfish, but at the same time she felt strangely better after their conversation, it was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She decided that she would find a therapist in Miyanoura or Kagoshima, she didn't know of anyone in town, then call Lee the next week with an update and ask him about his life. She went into the kitchen and turned off the stove realizing that she felt tired and would be able to sleep, it was two in the morning, three more hours of sleep would do her good.

* * *

Two days after her conversation with Lee, Jun had let her guard down; there had been no dreams, only restful uninterrupted sleep. She went to bed on the third night, sleep took her almost immediately after she laid her head on her pillow and almost as quickly she began to dream.

She was just a presence in the room, she couldn't see around her, she could only see what he saw. Kazuya lay inside a glass tube, there was no mistaking what it was this time. Again, it was cold, freezing, and the blue liquid filled every cubic inch of the holding tank. There was the addition of sound this time, the hum of electric equipment and a sterile smell that reminded her of a hospital.

She woke up cold and scared again, the smell of antiseptic lingering in her nostrils and her mind. She curled herself up under the blankets and fell asleep only to have the dream repeat itself and wake her again.

She sat up and rubbed her arms vigorously, she was too cold and decided to take a hot shower. It was three in the morning by now and she knew she would not be able to sleep. After her shower, she wrapped herself in her thick, blue robe and stepped into her fuzzy slippers then made some tea. Holding her steaming mug she walked into her living area and sat on the couch, she put her mug on the end table and pulled the chain to turn on the beige-colored table lamp. She grabbed the TV remote and flipped through channels as she sipped her tea. After a few minutes of watching late night advertisements she set her mug on the coffee table and laid down on the couch. She watched as a woman in spandex shorts and a sports bra droned on and on about a miracle weight loss cure.

She woke up at half-past seven with a sore neck but grateful for dreamless sleep. She had fallen asleep with the towel wrapped around her head and knew that her hair would be a tangled mess. She went to the bathroom and brushed it as well as she could but her usually silky, black hair was frizzy and unruly. She put on a headband and tied it into a ponytail for good measure then went into her bedroom and dressed in a pair of cutoff denim shorts and a white tank top.

It was not even eight in the morning and it was already hot, that was somewhat different for early May but it was a benefit in a way because the warm weather meant more tourists during Golden Week in Yakushima.

Golden Week was a cluster of holidays in Japan, which all happen to fall next to each other and usually within the first week of May. Good for Yakushima's economy but not for Jun; it meant that the schools were closed and she had nothing to do but focus on her unpleasant thoughts and dreams.

She decided to walk the very short distance to town and have something to eat while she was out. Though it was early she knew that some of the vendors and merchants were setting up their food carts readying themselves for the onslaught of tourists. She took a quick inventory of the food items she had in her kitchen and the things that she needed to buy then grabbed a brown, tweed shopping bag and set off into town.

Jun lived at the edge of town in a small, two-bedroom, peach colored house. As she descended the two steps in front of her door she glanced at her vegetable garden, it was looking beautiful but the tomatoes were still green, she added tomatoes to her mental shopping list. Turning to close the little iron gate at the end of her yard she realized how badly the exterior of the house needed to be painted. She made another mental note to buy paint after Golden Week was over, this time she would go with something less showy, perhaps a light beige color.

She bowed and smiled at the people out walking the narrow streets. Everything looked more lively than usual, cords and rope sporting an array of carp-shaped streamers in every color imaginable were strung from one building to the other crisscrossing above the reach of pedestrians. The streamers were also seen decorating telephone poles and storefront windows, she could even see them tied to the sides of food carts and vehicles. The clear, blue sky and the cherry trees in full bloom added to the beauty of her small town which was already a sight to behold, surrounded by blue-green water and with vibrant greenery as its backdrop year-round.

She let the scent of delicious, fried fish guide her to the closest food vendor as she arrived at the town center. She spent the next hour eating her meal and walking through the open-air market buying the items that she needed.

After finishing her shopping she felt content. She realized that she had a smile on her face as she saw a group of children run between a small restaurant and a jewelry vendor's tent and onto the beach. She recognized some of them from some of the classrooms where she had been a substitute.

She followed the children feeling drawn to the smooth, white sand. She took off her sandals and walked enjoying the warmth under her feet until she found a spot to sit and watch the water. A warm breeze began to blow and she closed her eyes.

She wished that Kazuya was with her, that he was sitting next to her enjoying the weather and the food. She felt a knot in her throat when she realized that it was impossible. Not only was he dead, but she didn't even know if he had been the type to enjoy a quiet day in a small town. She doubted if _he_ even knew, having been possessed by a demon most of his life only to die on the same day that it had left him. He had not even been given the opportunity to get to know himself.

She opened her eyes feeling suddenly empty and thoroughly depressed. She wanted to go back home so that she could sleep the time away until her next day of work, until she had something to occupy her mind. She roughly wiped away the tears that were running down her face and blinked several times to keep them at bay. They wind was beginning to pick up causing the waves to crash onto the beach harder and faster. She focused her gaze on the water to try to think of something, anything that would make her forget Kazuya.

She focused on the deep blue color but it only made things worse because it began to remind her of the blue fluid in the holding tank that she knew Kazuya was trapped in… No, that she had dreamed he was trapped in. But if had all seemed so real...

She focused on the water again drowning out the sounds of the children playing, the sound of the wind and of the ocean itself. She stood up and walked toward the water leaving her bag and sandals forgotten.

She felt the foamy water lap at her ankles and calves, it was colder than it looked, the breeze was warm, but it was still early in the morning. She shivered and felt goose bumps on her body but continued walking into the ocean. She walked until the water reached her mid thigh then slowly sank to her knees, it took a couple of minutes to get used to the cold, but slowly her body began to accept it. The wind had picked up and the waves were rising higher but that didn't bother her as she sat in the cool, salty water.

Jun moved her arms back and forth under the water attempting to resist the current and feeling the water seep between her fingers. It was so blue. In her mind's eye, she saw Kazuya surrounded by the blue liquid and she wondered if being under that blue water felt the same. She sat with her legs extended in front of her then pinched her nose and laid back sinking under the water. The sounds were muffled and as she opened her eyes she saw the bright, sparkling sun through her blurry surroundings. She decided that the feeling was similar to being in the holding tank, but there was less pressure around her, meaning that whatever liquid Kazuya was submerged in was denser than water. She also felt the obvious need to breathe, something that Kazuya did not. Maybe that fact in itself meant that he truly was dead.

Feeling her oxygen supply running low she sat up bringing her head above the water and noticing that the wind had picked up suddenly and the waves were coming harder and faster than before. A distinct sound caught her attention, a child yelling or screaming she thought, as she turned to face the beach she indeed saw a boy of about eight or nine years old standing on the sand waving to her.

"Miss Kazama!"

She was just barely able to make out her name but could not understand the rest of what he said, he pointed behind him, to the small restaurant perhaps, but she couldn't be sure. She felt a wave hit her and the boy began to point at her and to wave his arms frantically, Jun tried to turn but it was too late.

The wave was larger than the rest, she had just enough time to hold her breath before it pushed her down. She felt the force push and pull her body at the same time, she tried to right herself so that she could swim to shore, but was under the water and completely confused about the direction the current was taking her and the wave was still putting pressure on her making it difficult to move. For a terrifying second, she didn't know which way was up and which was down. When she saw the light above her she felt the pressure let up and she swam toward the top, as her head broke the surface she gasped for air and was grateful when it filled her lungs.

The wave had pulled her farther out into the ocean than she realized, she swam until her feet touched the bottom, then she stood up and began to walk on shaky legs. She felt something around her neck and realized that it was her headband but ignored it when she suddenly became aware of the sand wedged in the most uncomfortable of places. She wanted to do something about it but she noticed the group of children pointing at her with a worried look on their faces.

There was a man with them; he was well dressed, too well dressed to be a local, and wore sunglasses. One of the boys was talking to him as he pointed toward her, she felt immediately self-conscious. As she reached the edge of the water the boys rushed toward her and to her dismay so did the stranger. He was dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a light-blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Are you all right, Miss Kazama?" One of the boys that she recognized from school asked wide-eyed.

"Yes, thank you, Kaito, I'm fine." Jun felt the overwhelming need to pull off her shorts but tried to put the thought out of her mind by concentrating on the man.

"Miss Kazama," the boy standing next to the stranger said, "your shirt is around your belly, we can see your bra."

She felt her face burn red as the other boys began to snicker, she looked down to see that it was indeed true and quickly pulled her tank top up and pushed her arms through the sleeve holes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kazama," the man began in a regretful tone, "I ran to you when I noticed what was happening, but when I finally reached the edge you were already swimming back."

Jun was mortified when she recognized his voice. "Lee…" Giving him a second look she recognized his handsome features despite the sunglasses; what had thrown her off was the black hair. She wanted to ask him about it but decided that it might be rude and what she really wanted to know was why he was there. "You were honestly the last person I expected to see here."

"Jun Kazama!" She recognized the woman by her admonishing tone before she even saw her, it was Tamiko, a woman old enough to be her mother and one of most nosy and obnoxious people on the island. "What were you thinking? You could have died!"

Jun attempted to defend herself. "The wave surprised me, I-"

"What were you doing out in the water? First you're sitting on the sand like some angsty teenager then nearly drowning in front of the children, what kind of example are you setting for them? You are a teacher, you should know better. And you almost died during Golden Week! You nearly ruined the holidays for everyone." The woman shook her head in disapproval.

"I wasn't going to die, I-"

"Go get yourself cleaned up, you're making all of us look bad in front of the foreigners." She said pointing at Lee.

"Miss Kazama, Miss Kazama!" Kaito said jumping up and down. "I was trying to tell you that a foreigner was looking for you.

"Thank you, Kaito." Jun smiled at the boy despite her embarrassment. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Bye!" Kaito waved and took off running, the rest of the boys following after him.

"Lee, you _have_ to try these." A blonde woman in a fuschia-colored sundress coming from the direction of the restaurant stood next to Lee, her long, silky hair flowing gracefully behind her as the breeze made the dress cling to her curvaceous body in all the appropriate places. "These dumplings alone were worth the trip."

"Not now," Lee said gently as the beautiful blonde pushed the white cardboard box in front of his face. She too wore sunglasses, there was something familiar about her.

"You see, Jun," Tamiko shook her head as she pointed at the foreign woman, "how are we supposed to compete with that? You're one of the best-looking girls in town, but you just don't dress to your strengths."

"It isn't a competition," Jun said flatly as she felt her cheeks burn beyond what she thought was humanly possible.

The blonde laughed a beautiful, twinkling laugh. "No, dear, it never was."

The laugh was what made Jun recognize her. "Hello, Anna."

"See, Lee?" Anna Williams said dismissively, "I told you she would be fine, but you just had to run out here and try to play the hero. She doesn't need you, she's scrappy." She took a bite of her dumpling.

"Anna…" Lee's voice sounded somewhat pleading.

"Oh," Anna sighed, "hello, Jun."

"I hope you don't judge us all by what you see here," Tamiko said as she bowed to Lee and Anna. "Enjoy Golden Week, I hope you come back to visit." She turned her back to them and walked toward the street.

"Your mommy?" Anna asked as she bit into her dumpling.

"No."

An uncharacteristically bitter thought passed through Jun's head. There were millions of women in the world, most of which would commit every crime short of murder, or perhaps even murder to be with someone like Lee and he had chosen Anna. He could do better, much better. There were royals, powerful career-women and beautiful, pampered, heiresses. Lee could have someone from any one of those categories, but he had chosen Anna Williams who behaved like a pampered, career-princess but was nothing more than a glorified murderer. She sighed inwardly when she realized what a hypocrite she was being, judging Lee for who he loved when Jun herself had loved a man that was not much better, perhaps worse than Anna.

Lee shook his head. "I completely forgot it was Golden Week."

"I know you don't like all the bustle," Anna shrugged, "but at least there's good food to eat everywhere."

"Jun… Miss Kazama-" Lee began.

"Please," Jun bowed slightly, _slightly_ because any movement sent all manner of unpleasant sensations to areas that she didn't want to call any attention to, "just call me Jun."

"Yes, darling," Anna said as she helped herself to another dumpling, "no need for formalities here."

Lee sighed looking embarrassed. "Jun, may I have a word with Anna for a moment."

"Of course," Jun said, then moved out of hearing range to give them privacy.

"What do you mean all booked up?" She heard Anna ask loudly after Lee spoke to her, Jun couldn't hear what he had said. "No, I don't want to fly back to Kagoshima, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I need a nap and I'm like really tired!"

Jun could guess what he was telling Anna. That during Golden Week they would have almost zero possibility of finding a hotel without a reservation, she doubted they would have much better luck in Kagoshima. Against her better judgment, and because she was nearly certain that they were there because of what she had told Lee, she made her way to them.

"I couldn't help overhearing Anna," they both turned to look at her, Anna's stance was almost threatening, "but if you don't have a place to stay you're welcome to stay with me. I have a spare room and I live right here in town."

"We couldn't impose-" Lee began.

"Yes, we can," Anna said, then spun on her heel and headed back to the restaurant pushing her way past a young couple and two teenage girls.

"I'm very sorry, Jun." Lee removed his sunglasses and put them inside his shirt pocket. "We have a new business at home and Anna is concerned about being away from it. I don't think her hostility has anything to do with you personally."

Jun knew that it did. If she had been living a peaceful life with Kazuya only to have it disrupted by Anna's crazy nightmares she would have taken issue with her. She would never be as rude as Anna but she would still be resentful.

"You're here because of me, aren't you?" Jun asked as she cast down her eyes.

She felt guilt beginning to seep into her, she wasn't sure why, but as she looked up at Lee again she realized what it was. Lee with black hair and Anna with long, blonde hair… They didn't want to be recognized by Heihachi. He had threatened Lee with death if he ever saw him in Japan again, with Anna being such an important part of his life it probably meant that the threat had extended to her as well.

"I'm here because I have to know what happened to Kazuya." He sighed as he fixed his gaze on the ocean, the breeze had gone and it was calm once more. "I know we both watched him die but…"

"I'm ready," they were interrupted by Anna who spoke in an authoritative tone as she briskly walked toward them, "let's go."

Lee looked toward the restaurant. "Where's our luggage?"

"I paid a couple of kids to take it to Jun's house, they're on their way there now." Anna had a new box full of dumplings in her hand, she pulled one out and began to eat it.

"Do you know who they are?" Lee asked sounding concerned. "What if they just run off with it?"

"They're locals, that would never happen in a town like this, and they said they know Jun." Anna chuckled. "Also, I told them that if they cross me I will find them and murder them in their sleep."

Her words lit a fuse in Jun. "I will have none of that in my town!"

"She's joking," Lee said as he stared daggers into Anna.

Anna smirked. "Of course, they're just kids. I promise that as soon as I see our luggage on her doorstep I'll tell the little darlings that I was joking."

Jun was already regretting her offer, she didn't want to have Anna in her house, eating all her food and spewing threats. She was probably the type of person who left crumbs all over the counters and wet towels on the bathroom floor.

"We'd better hurry then." Jun walked briskly toward her sandals and shopping bag, she wished she had been slower, the sand in her shorts and bra was chafing everywhere.

She watched as Anna took Lee's hand and guided him toward the increasingly crowded street. They were a gorgeous couple, not only that, but they looked pristine, the heat didn't seem to bother them at all and the breeze blew their hair in angles that made them look even more attractive. It was utterly unnatural.

As Jun walked in measured steps toward them she realized that she still had her headband around her neck. She pulled it up with her free hand and realized what a disgusting and tangled mess her hair was. There should have been thoughts and questions running through her head, but all she could think about was getting home and taking a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Anna chose love over being frozen and Jun never became pregnant...Did she behave responsibly, or was it just luck? (Probably luck.)


	3. A Package Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jun and Lee come to terms with the possibility that Kazuya may be alive.

Jun felt strange knowing that two other people were occupying her home. She felt awkward knowing that she might run into them at any moment, she worried about accidentally opening the bathroom door when someone was using it or having someone walk into her bedroom while she was getting dressed. She was an over-worrier, even her mother had told her.

She had expected Anna to complain about things not being at the level of luxury that she was accustomed, but when they arrived at Jun's house she seemed legitimately glad to have a place to rest. After verifying that the luggage had arrived safely at Jun's doorstep and after a _very_ reluctant apology from Anna to Jun and to the boys who had carried the luggage, per Lee's request, of course, the young couple had immediately taken advantage of the spare bedroom and settled in to rest. It was ten a.m. in Yakushima and eleven p.m. in New York, Jun was sure that the time difference was interfering with their circadian rhythm.

It was past one p.m. and Jun had long since showered and brushed her hair leaving it as close to its usual silkiness as she was able; it had been no easy task. She knew that she needed one more shower and a low humidity day to restore it back to its normal glory. She began to wonder what sort of routine Anna needed for her hair, she assumed that she was one of those women she'd heard about who spent hours primping. She sighed as she realized that once again she was being judgmental. She didn't know why but Anna had a way of bringing it out of her.

She walked into the kitchen to prepare a meal for her guests and herself. She was a fair cook, not great by any means, so she decided to keep things simple by steaming some rice and serving it with snap peas and carrots from her garden. As she readied her ingredients she heard someone walk into the living room.

Her shoulders instantly felt tight. If it was Anna… What would they even say to each other? And if it was Lee they'd have a difficult conversation that would make her feel more guilty than she already did for putting him in danger. _And Anna as well._ She had to forcefully insert that last thought.

As she was mentally preparing herself to go into the living room she saw Lee walk into the kitchen. She still wasn't used to seeing him with dark hair. He looked overdressed in the same gray slacks and blue shirt that he had been wearing earlier, he made her feel underdressed in her denim skirt and blue tank top. She quickly reminded herself that she was in her own home and had no reason to feel uncomfortable. _Stop worrying about nothing, Jun_. It was what her mother would say, and so would her brother and father.

Jun slightly bowed her head as she greeted Lee. "Hello, were you able to get some rest?"

"Yes." Lee smiled and put his hands in the pockets of his pants. "I can't thank you enough for your hospitality."

He was always so polite, almost _too_ polite. It didn't bother Jun in the slightest, but it was something that she had always noticed. It was almost as if he were overcompensating, trying to make the world forget that up until a year ago he had been a Mishima. Or perhaps he was subconsciously trying to apologize for it.

"No," Jun moved over to the small, circular table and began to pick vegetables from a wicker basket and put them into a large, metal bowl, "I should be thanking _you_ for coming." She stopped what she was doing and looked up at Lee. "Why exactly are you here? What is it that you hope to accomplish?"

Lee walked over to the sink and turned on the water then began to wash his hands. "Can I be of some help? I promise you I'm much more handy in the kitchen than most." He turned off the water and dried his hands on the towel hanging from a cabinet above the area. "Anna has many impressive skills, but cooking isn't one of them, so it had to fall on one of us."

"Oh...um…" Jun handed him the bowl full of vegetables. "You can clean these if you don't mind."

Lee smiled as he took the bowl. "First of all, I want to apologize for the things I said during our first conversation."

Jun fixed her eyes on the small window behind Lee. "You have nothing to apologize for, I know how I sounded. But what changed your mind?" She asked the question as casually as she could. The truth was that having him dismiss her concerns had hurt. He had been her only hope and he had turned her away. As the thought came to her, she realized that she _did_ harbor some resentment toward him, but she would never admit it to him or to anyone.

Lee began rinsing the vegetables in the sink. "Anna…" He looked behind his shoulder as if to make sure that she wasn't standing in the doorway. "She didn't tell me what happened to her sister Nina."

"What happened?" Jun suddenly felt awkward standing in the middle of the kitchen doing nothing and moved to the counter to put the rice in the electric steamer.

Lee lowered his head and as she gave him a sidelong glance she saw that his brow was furrowed.

"...Did Kazuya tell you anything about Nina?"

"No."

He sighed heavily. "She entered the tournament to kill Kazuya." His words made Jun's stomach turn into knots. "Someone he had wronged hired her, the specifics aren't important, but she was there to assassinate him." He finished rinsing the vegetables and Jun pointed to a knife and cutting board on the counter next to the sink. "She obviously failed, she was caught and captured by Anna as well as Kazuya's security forces the night before the last day of the tournament." He shook his head. "I didn't know this until the day after you called me, I knew that she'd been caught but I didn't know that as a punishment Kazuya decided to use her for one of his genetic experiments."

"What?" Jun had known the type of person that Kazuya was and yet every time she discovered something new she was genuinely and unpleasantly surprised. "What experiment?"

"Nina was placed in the cryosleep, or cold-sleep machine," Lee explained as he turned to Jun with a somber look on his face, "the subject is placed in a sort of suspended animation."

Jun crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. "Nina Williams was placed in suspended animation?" She shook her head, "I don't understand."

"She's frozen as we speak. As far as I'm aware, she's been in that holding tank for a year. Twenty, fifty years can go by and she will remain exactly as she was the day she was frozen. She will not age a single day."

Jun stood with her mouth agape, it was all too unbelievable. And yet, she had witnessed an angel exorcise a demon from the man she loved... Who was to say that science wasn't more advanced than most were aware of?

"Are you saying that the same thing happened to Kazuya?"

" _May_ have happened." Lee corrected, then chuckled slightly, "the way you described your dream to me, that last dream…" He set the bowl of clean vegetables on the counter as he shook his head and turned to face Jun. "...I believe in science, a man of my background is not supposed to believe in prophetic dreams or angels or demons-"

"You were there, Lee," Jun said feeling irritated and defensive. "You were there when-"

"I know." He shook his head again, "I saw… I saw an angel exorcise a demon out of my brother's body. I watched them fly and fight… It's not an easy thing to accept. Sometimes I lie awake thinking about it, thinking about how it should have been _impossible_. The rational part of my brain refuses to accept it, even now." He sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. "That's why I told myself that your dreams were the result of grief."

"Are they?" Jun's chest felt tight as she waited for his answer.

"...I don't think so."

There was hope, hope that Kazuya was alive and that Lee was there to help her find him. She felt a knot in her throat and tears threatened to fill her eyes. She didn't dare say a word wanting him to continue, wanting him to keep feeding her hopes.

Lee continued, "what you described to me, the glass tube filled with blue liquid, it's the holding tank where the subject is placed. I thought that the plans to use the cryosleep machine had never been put into motion, but Anna said that Kazuya himself had told her what he had planned to do with Nina."

"And she didn't tell you?" Jun asked in disbelief. "She didn't even try to stop him from freezing her sister?"

Lee sighed. "Anna and Nina's relationships is...complicated."

Jun refrained from making further comments on the subject. "You keep referring to it as the cryosleep _machine_ ," Jun rubbed her temple as she felt the beginning of a headache. "Are you saying that there could be another holding tank where Kazuya is being kept?"

"I can't be certain, but Dr. Bosconovitch had the components and the means to create more than one machine and from what I've heard he willingly stayed at the Zaibatsu working for Heihachi."

"But if that's true, why in the world would Heihachi want to preserve Kazuya in suspended animation?" Jun could not believe that she was now the one casting doubt on the belief that Kazuya was alive. She should be the one urging Lee to take action.

"Much like myself, Heihachi is a man who believes in science." Now that they were freely speaking about it Lee seemed to relax and began julienning carrots. "He always knew that there was something...different about Kazuya. _Wrong_ , he called it. And as much as he hated him he envied his strength and skill, of course, he would never admit to such a thing. There were even a few instances when I saw that he feared Kazuya, there were just brief glimpses of it but, I know I saw it."

"I still don't understand," Jun said quietly.

"Seriously?" They both turned to see Anna standing in the doorway, her blonde hair was gone and she now sported her usual short, brown bob. "Remember, darling," she walked to Lee and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "use short sentences and repeat yourself often."

"Anna," Lee said in a low and level voice. "Please remember that Jun is being overly kind letting us stay in her home."

Anna rolled her eyes. "What Lee just told you means that being the evil, power-hungry, and evil bastard that Heihachi Mishima is, he would not hesitate to use the son that he murdered, as a guinea pig. A guinea pig for what? Anything. Everything. Especially if it means that he had or perhaps _still_ has a power that the old man can use to enhance his own. It doesn't matter if it's real or a fairy tale, what matters is that the old sack of garbage believes it." She grabbed a handful of cut carrots from the bowl and settled herself on a chair.

Jun didn't like the woman, she didn't like her attitude and the way that she didn't even bother to thinly veil her dislike, resentment or whatever her negative feelings for her were; still, she made sense. From what little she knew of Heihachi it seemed to fit his character, use anyone and anything to achieve power, including his own children.

"But how would he still be alive?" Jun fixed her gaze on the scuffed, tile floor as doubt wormed itself into her thoughts. "We all saw what happened-"

"Yes," Anna's expression hardened. "And we all left him." She looked pointedly at Jun, "... _all_ of us."

Jun cast down her eyes. She knew what Anna meant, that Jun should have stayed behind to see that Kazuya's body was treated with respect and that he was given a proper burial. She had wanted to stay. But mere seconds after Anna and Lee left the stadium it had been swarmed by Heihachi's guards, they had forced her out at gunpoint and at the time she had told herself that she'd had no choice but to leave. But still, there were nights when she couldn't sleep, nights when she told herself that she should have tried harder, that she should have done more to remain with him.

"Anna… Please." Lee's quiet voice pulled Jun out of her thoughts and into the current conversation.

Anna gave him a sidelong glance and her expression immediately softened. "Sorry." She said as she looked at Jun, but she knew that the apology had been for Lee.

"Maybe he didn't die." Lee mused. "I've reviewed the footage, the paramedics took him immediately, he wasn't pronounced dead in the arena. I've been thinking that maybe he was on the brink of death, many people are able to survive a broken neck. Maybe Heihachi found that this was the case and decided to...make use of him."

Lee looked ill as he said those words, Jun felt ill herself. If that was the case it would mean that they didn't _just_ leave Kazuya alone, they also _allowed_ Heihachi Mishima to use his own son as a guinea pig.

"These taste really fresh," Anna said as she delicately nibbled on a carrot. "They must be from your garden. I've always loved vegetables, even as a little girl, my mother's friends didn't believe her when she told them. Their little brats would practically throw up at the sight of a tomato!" She scoffed. "Forget about peas or broccoli, the little monsters would never go near them, even Nina was a picky eater."

Lee sighed and Jun stared at Anna not knowing what to say.

Jun finally decided to break the silence after a few seconds of watching Anna eat carrots. "...Are you here to help your sister too?"

Anna shrugged, "since we're already here, it'll be sort of like a package deal." She pointed a carrot at Jun, "if the old bastard has Kazuya we'll help you get him back. We've already put ourselves in danger, we may as well have something to show for it. Now," she straightened in her chair, "I saw that you had some fresh fish in your shopping bag, I'm super hungry and it would go really well with the rice. So toss a coin or something and decide which one of you is going to cook it. Don't make that face at me, Jun Kazama," she said as she saw the frown on Jun's face, "I'm not a complete ingrate, I'll do the dishes as long as you have a dishwasher." She stood up and strutted out of the kitchen.

As much as Jun wanted to be away from Anna and as much as she was sure Anna wanted to be away from her, she was glad that Lee was there. It was obviously a package deal and she knew that she should just be grateful that for the first time since she saw Kazuya fall there was something to look forward to, a bright spot in her life.

* * *

Anna hated being in Yakushima. She generally loved Japan, but even though the island was beautiful, being there just didn't feel right. She felt like she was in enemy territory and as such, she wanted to be prepared; she wanted to sleep with a gun under her pillow and a knife secured inside her boot. She sighed as she pulled on her gold sandals; it was too hot for boots, so even if she had a proper throwing knife she'd have to hide it under her dress strapped to her leg, something that Lee would immediately notice. She knew that it shouldn't matter, but she had promised him that she had left that life behind. As for the gun, if she could only get off the god-forsaken island without Lee noticing she would be able to get it from one of her contacts in Japan. But again, she had promised to leave that life behind and blah, blah, blah.

She stood up from the wooden chair that she had been occupying and looked to the bedside table expecting to see the clock. She rolled her eyes as she remembered that the clock was inconveniently sitting on top of the dresser that was inconveniently set against the wall opposite the bed. _What a stupid place to put it_ , never in her life had Anna seen an alarm clock anywhere other than immediately next to the bed within arm's reach. She was sure all her guests hated that. She laughed quietly as she realized that Jun probably didn't have guests, who would willingly spend their free time with her?

She walked up to the full-length mirror hanging beside a small window and she and admired her reflection as she spun slowly, looking over her shoulder. Her short, sleeveless dress fit her perfectly and her signature red color made her feel like a goddess. The humidity was making her hair slightly poofy, which was one of the reasons why she wore the slinky garment, the other was that she looked amazing in it.

"If you're having a bad hair day," Anna said softly as she ran her hands slowly over her curvy hips, "make sure they look somewhere else."

She looked at the clock again, it was not even ten a.m. and she was already bored out of her mind. There was a celebration happening in town and Lee didn't even want to go, there was the option of spending time with Jun but she was boring as hell, and most importantly, Anna hated her. She hated her squeaky-clean image and her goodie-two-shoes attitude, she wished Kazuya had never met her. She had always imagined him with someone elegant and well dressed, a cutthroat bitch from the business world. But that was impossible now, he was dead, no matter what Lee and Jun thought, and they were in Yakushima, where they were probably in danger and it was too hot for boots.

Being completely honest with herself she was only there to keep Lee safe and to comfort him when he realized that Kazuya was gone, truly gone and that their trip had been a waste of time. She had tried being honest with Lee, telling him that dreams were dreams and nothing more. But each time he brought up the wonders that Dr. Bosconovitch was able to accomplish and then tried to guilt her into helping Nina. In Anna's mind, Nina got exactly what she deserved, _no one crosses Kazuya Mishima and gets away with it._

Anna shook her head, " _crossed._ " She said the word slowly. "Kazuya is gone." Lee and Jun's optimism was beginning to affect her thoughts.

She sighed as she decided to go look for Lee, he had said that he needed to make some phone calls and she didn't hear him in the house, which meant that he was outside. She was actually shocked to know that he could get a good signal on the cellular phone seeing as they were on an island, practically in the middle of nowhere. As she stepped out of the bedroom she heard the clattering of dishes in the kitchen and quietly slipped past to avoid being roped into menial labor. She opened the front door and heard Lee by the garden, she walked down the wooden steps then rounded the corner and saw him wearing beige slacks and a dark-blue shirt; it was difficult to get used to his black hair. She had Jun to blame for that too.

He shifted his attention from his phone to his address book and began to leaf through the pages, the call had obviously ended and judging by his worried expression it had either not gone well or he had hit another dead end. Immediately upon seeing Anna his expression was skillfully replaced with a warm smile.

"You look breathtaking," Lee said as Anna wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Do I?" She batted her long eyelashes as she looked up at him.

He lightly kissed her lips. "Ravishing."

She slowly ran her hands up his arms onto his shoulders. "Do you want to… _ravage_ me right now?"

"Anna…" He pulled his body slightly away from hers. "This really isn't the time."

"Come on." She cooed.

"You shouldn't have said no last night." He admonished. "I knew this was going to happen."

Anna huffed in annoyance. "I _did_ want to, but this house has really thin walls, I didn't want Prude Kazama to hear us, I wouldn't want to be responsible for giving her a heart attack. Remember that time when she caught us making out in the conference room? She shielded her eyes! She acted like she caught us naked in the middle of f-"

Lee sighed, obviously frustrated. "Can you please, _please_ try to be nice to her."

Anna shook her head. "You know why I feel the way I do about her, I'm not going-"

"And if the fact that she was in the house stopped you last night why would now be different? Not only is she here, but she's awake."

"We could convince her to go into town to buy a few things for us." Anna put in helpfully.

"I'm asking you to be nice or at least civil to her, kicking her out of her own house so that we can have sex is neither."

She pouted. "But I don't want to be nice to her."

"Anna…" He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Will you at least try, please, for me."

"...God damn it." She looked away, she couldn't say no to that, he wouldn't say that unless it was important to him. "Fine, whatever."

He kissed the back of her hand. "Thank you."

"What are you doing anyway?" She asked eager to change the subject.

He sighed wearily as he fixed his gaze on the address book. "I'm calling anyone who may know anything about the cryosleep machine, Dr. Bosconovitch or its components… Just… I don't know."

"Any luck?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to start calling the former board of directors next, maybe Wang Jinrei…"

He looked worried, exhausted, the past year had been difficult for him. He had been forced to come to terms with the death of his brother, a brother that he not quite hated but deeply disliked. In the end, though, they were brothers and that was all that mattered to Lee. _Until Jun Kazama came along and brainwashed him into thinking that he's still alive._ There was also the fact that his father had threatened him with suffering the same fate as Kazuya if he ever saw him again. And then there was what Lee said he saw, what he _thought_ he saw, it wasn't that Anna didn't believe him but it was impossible.

Angels and demons didn't exist. Her mother had tried to raise her Catholic, like any good Irish girl, but it just didn't take. She suspected that her father training her to be an assassin since she was a child may have countered her mother's religious teachings.

Lee had gone through a tremendous trauma watching his father kill his brother, that was enough to make anyone see things. On top of everything they were starting a new life and a new business from scratch in a different country, it was too much for any one person to go through in just one year.

She resignedly decided to do everything in her power to help him.

She put her arms around him again. "I am bored out of my skull, so I am going to go back in the house and very nicely ask Jun to take me into town so I can buy a few things I need. After we come back you can let us know what progress you've made and then the three of us will come up with a plan to get Kazuya back."

"And Nina."

Anna waved her hand dismissively. "Sure. How does that sound?"

"Thank you." He pulled her close and kissed her softly.

Anna laid her head on his shoulder after breaking the kiss and put her hand on his chest. She needed to do that once in a while, feel the steady beating of his heart.

"You will thank me again tonight," she said as she breathed in the familiar scent of his cologne, "because as soon as it gets dark we are going down to the beach and you are going to take me like a wild animal."

He chuckled slightly. "Is that so?"

"Or, you know, you can be really gentle with me, at this point, I'll take either." She smiled deviously as she looked up at him. "Is it a full moon?"

"No."

"Damn, I was going to make a joke about werewolves or mooning or something hilarious like that, but I guess I'll save it for the next full moon. We'll have to remember to do it outside."

He laughed softly as he kissed the top of her head. "You should go, you're giving me all sorts of terrible ideas."

"Write them down," she raised herself on her toes and kissed him lightly, "especially the _really_ naughty ones, I wouldn't want you to forget them before we get a chance to try them."

She winked seductively before turning back toward the house. Inhaling deeply she braced herself for the tedium of spending time with Jun and for the news she was almost certain she'd receive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm realizing that Anna may be my favorite character, she is so much fun to write!
> 
> When the idea of Jun having dreams about Kazuya being alive came to me I was going to write an angsty story, but then I decided to add Anna and it changed everything. I'm trying to make it as light-hearted as I can, but I still want the characters to have real feelings of guilt and regret, fears, etc.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it, happy New Year!


	4. Merlot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jun and Anna's trip into town prompts some welcome and unwelcome discoveries.

Jun turned away from the kitchen window as she caught herself staring at Lee and Anna. They looked genuinely happy. Their body language and the way they looked at each other told her that they were in love. It was obvious. She was overcome by a feeling of sadness, she thought that she was done grieving over what could have been, but as she watched the young couple she began to miss everything that she couldn't have with Kazuya anymore; and everything that she never had. Their relationship had been too short and he had not even been himself. She felt a sudden panic as she wondered for the first time since she lost him; if he came back would he still want her? Would he want a real relationship with her? Marriage?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the front door open.

"Jun?"

Anna's smiling face startled her as she tried to leave the kitchen, Jun took a step backward, she was standing too close, invading her personal space.

"What is it?" She eyed Anna's glitzy outfit and again felt underdressed in her cut-off denim shorts and sleeveless, white blouse. Again, she had to remind herself that she was in her own home.

"I really need to go into town to buy some indispensable things and I was hoping that you could go with me since I don't know where anything is." She punctuated her sentence with a sweet smile.

Jun immediately realized that Lee must have asked her to be more civil, she wished that the sentiment had been Anna's alone, but she wasn't about to complain, good behavior was good behavior.

"Sure," she smiled in return, "just give me a minute to grab my wallet."

"Okay, I'll be outside," Anna chirped before walking toward the door.

Jun went into her room and took her wallet from the top of the dresser but decided to just take some money instead. She pulled out some cash and put it in her pocket before leaving the room. On her way out she felt the need for a hair tie and quickly walked into the bathroom where she was met with the most unpleasant of sights.

On the floor next to the bathtub was an obviously damp towel balled up on top of the bathmat. Jun stood in the doorway with her mouth agape, not only was there a wet towel on the floor, but it was _on top_ of the bathmat. That needed to air dry, leaving something wet on top of it was completely unsanitary.

_Anna._

She was sure it was Anna, she had been the last one to use the shower. She almost picked it up but decided against it, what if she remembered that she had left it on the floor, then came in to pick it up and saw that Jun had already done it? She might be embarrassed, Jun knew that she would be if that ever happened to her.

She shook her head slowly as she sighed. _No, nothing embarrasses that woman._

Still, she decided to leave it hoping that Anna would remember. It was time to wash the bathmat anyway. Though it was difficult to leave the mess behind, she walked out of the bathroom and hurried toward the front door.

"Gah!" Jun exclaimed under her breath.

The front door had been left wide open. Did Anna not realize that she had just given flies and mosquitoes license to populate the house? If she complained about itchy bites Jun would have no sympathy for her.

But still, she made a mental note to buy anti-itch ointment while she was out.

She stepped outside and closed the door softly behind her, then lightly hopped down the steps, she didn't see Anna and the gate was still closed, so she had _obviously_ not gone through it. As Jun turned the corner and stepped into the garden she saw her kissing Lee. It was just a kiss, a sign of affection between two lovers, there was no groping or fondling or anything of the sort, still, Jun felt her face go red.

Anna giggled as she looked over her shoulder at her. "You go ahead, Jun, I'll catch up." She then turned her attention back to Lee who looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Jun's eyes averted the pair. "Oh...um, please remember to close the gate."

She quickly spun around and began to walk not waiting for Anna's response. She made her way out of the little, iron gate and closed it even though she knew Anna was close behind. One of the neighbors had a little dog that she had caught digging in her garden more than once and she didn't want to give it any opportunity to enter her property. Though he was sweet, maybe she could let him in while she was outside working in the garden, teach him that plants should be respected.

She walked slowly toward the street, not wanting to get too far ahead of Anna. Soon she heard her light, brisk steps behind her.

"Oh my god, he is so sexy…" Anna said as she caught up to her. "We've been together for more than three years but you know, as they say, the fire still burns," she sighed dreamily, "anyway, thanks for taking me."

"No problem," Jun smiled, glad that the subject seemed to have changed. "I need to buy anti-itch cream anyway."

"Oh…"Anna nodded in understanding. "Are you having _lady_ problems?"

Jun gasped. "No!" Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire. "...I...No, it's for mosquitoes."

"Oh, _mosquitoes_ , of course," Anna said obviously trying to stifle back a laugh.

That really upset Jun, how dare she assume that she was… Whatever Anna had meant. She could make jokes at Anna's expense too, she should, Anna had just mentioned something about 'fires burning', she was sure there was a joke in there somewhere. But she couldn't think of one, it just wasn't in her nature to be rude, therefore she tried a different strategy.

"Did you have a nice _shower_?" She hoped that the emphasis on the word would make her remember what she had done.

"Yes," Anna pulled some cash out of her purse and began to count it, "I was honestly surprised that you have such good water pressure." She put the cash back in her purse and smiled as she scanned her surroundings. "Is your hair naturally so flat then?"

Jun sighed softly. "My hair is fine."

"Yes, _fine_." She chuckled slightly.

Jun's mouth tightened as she looked straight ahead and reminded herself that having Kazuya back was worth going through the pain of spending time with Anna.

They did not encounter anyone during their awkward-silence-filled walk. It was the last day of Golden Week and the streets and shops were crowded even though it was not yet noon. Everyone who lived on the edge or further out of town was already in the streets enjoying the festivities or on the beach laying on towels or splashing in the unseasonably warm water. Lines were already forming in front of food vendors and restaurants as tourists and locals alike bought mementos and jewelry from merchants that had set up colorful tents on the narrow streets. Young couples took in the sights and held hands as children ran laughing toward the sand amid the brightly colored decorations. The addition of delicious scents covering the entire street perfected the scene. It brought a genuine smile to Jun's face.

"Your town is so quaint and pretty," Anna piped up next to her.

If only she had better company.

"Where is it that you need to go?" Jun asked as they were nearing some businesses.

"The pharmacy." She turned to looked at a man who had slowed his walk to sweep his eyes over her body in a not-so-discreet manner. "Do you like my hair?"

"Pardon?" The man asked looking red-faced.

"My hair," Anna ran her one hand over hair and the other down her hip, "do you like it?"

The man looked uncomfortable. "I...um...my wife…" He cleared his throat and quickly walked in the opposite direction.

Anna giggled, "too easy."

Jun rolled her eyes and looked at her watch. "If you need the pharmacy we need to hurry, I know the owner and she likes to close early on holidays."

"No," a worried look crossed Anna's face, "I need to go today."

Jun weaved through the crowd with Anna close behind her, soon they were standing in front of the pharmacy, a small building with bright, carp-shaped streamers decorating the windows and storefront. A plump woman in her sixties wearing a bright, pink dress was locking the door.

"Mariko!" Jun called her name and waved as she hopped slightly on the balls of her feet.

"Hello, Jun." The woman smiled as she began to descend the concrete steps.

"Wait," Jun ran up to her and gently put her hand on the woman's forearm. "I know you're closing up but-"

"I'm not closing up, I'm _closed_ ," Mariko said with slight annoyance in her voice.

"I'm so sorry, but my friend isn't from here, she just arrived from New York yesterday and she really needs some…" Jun turned to Anna realizing that she didn't know what she needed.

"Condoms," Anna said loudly as she looked through a pocket calendar.

Jun felt her cheeks flush.

Mariko shrugged her arm away from her and sighed in unmistakable irritation. "You want me to open my store for you and delay having lunch with my friends from the mainland that I haven't seen in months so that you can buy condoms, young woman?"

Anna looked pointedly at her. "Woman to woman, don't tell me that's not important. And according to this calendar, I also need something else."

Mariko sighed in defeat and slowly walked up the steps and began to unlock the door.

"Do you mind if I go to the restaurant while you do your shopping?" Jun pointed to one of the fried, flying fish restaurants across the street. "It will be past lunchtime when we get back and I don't have anything prepared."

"I think that's best." Anna nodded curtly and began to walk toward the steps, Jun wasn't certain, but she thought she looked anxious.

More than twenty minutes later Jun stepped out of the restaurant with their meal in three separate white, cardboard boxes. It was a much longer wait than usual for her small town, but she was lucky that she had arrived when she did, a line was beginning to form outside the building. She looked both ways before crossing the narrow street only as a habit, there was no need as it had been closed off to traffic for the week. Walking through the crowd she looked toward the pharmacy and saw Anna sitting on the top step clutching a brown, paper bag in her hand. She was gazing into the crowd but her eyes were unfocused.

"Anna?" Jun said as she set the food boxes on the step next to her. "Are you all right?"

Anna stood up then set the bag next to the boxes before taking Jun's hand in both of hers. Jun's body automatically tensed and pulled back at her touch but Anna held her hand in place with surprising strength.

"Congratulations," Anna began as she looked Jun in the eye, "you're the second person to learn that I'm pregnant." She beamed at Jun, it was the first genuine smile that she had directed at her. There were tears in her clear, blue eyes as she looked at her expectantly.

"Oh...um…" Jun didn't know why but she couldn't find the right words to say.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me?" Anna looked affronted as she let go of Jun's hand.

"I was, but then I thought that you had already said congratulations and-"

"It doesn't matter," Anna said as she delicately dabbed her tears with the heel of her palm. "I'm not going to let your attitude ruin the best day of my life."

"I'm sorry," Jun said feeling guilty, "but you said that you were going to buy condoms, so I didn't expect your news." She sighed. "Congratulations, really, I'm very happy for you both."

She picked up the paper bag but not before narrowing her eyes at Jun. "Of course I couldn't tell you what I really needed, if it didn't turn out to be true you'd probably mock me."

Jun felt completely insulted. "I would never do such a thing."

Anna shrugged. "I don't really know you, so I just assumed." She smiled again. "Here, I have a peace offering." She reached into the paper bag and handed Jun a small, rectangular, cardboard box.

Jun took it in her hand and frowned deeply when she read the label. "Vaginal anti-itch cream?" She looked up at Anna with her mouth agape not knowing what to say.

"You said you needed anti-itch cream."

Jun sighed. "For, _mosquitoes_ , I told you that. And I wouldn't need it if you had not left the door-"

Anna laughed lightly. "Oopsie, that's actually a little awkward. I guess I wasn't listening." She shrugged. "Your friend hasn't closed yet, she was super sweet letting me use her bathroom to take the pregnancy test, I'm sure she won't mind letting you exchange the cream for something useful, like condoms."

Jun felt her face flush again. "I don't need condoms."

"You just like to risk it, then?" Anna let out a low whistle. "It's bold but stupid."

"The food is getting cold." Jun pocketed the cream, maybe she could use it to make insect repellant for her plants.

She set off in the direction of her house with Anna following close behind. The woman was practically skipping and at the same time weaving flawlessly through the crowded street with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

Anna caught up to Jun and walked in step beside her. "I feel...elated, excited, ecstatic...what's another good E word?"

"Enormous," Jun said under her breath and immediately felt guilty then spewed the first word that came to mind. "Emotional?" And quickly realized that it wasn't much better than the first.

Anna laughed. "I heard the first one, Jun. I'm a trained assassin, I have damn-near supersonic hearing." Jun was utterly embarrassed over what she had said. "And no, I'm not going to lose my figure if that's what you were implying, the women in my family are not affected by pregnancy in the same way that most women are, we don't suffer morning sickness or swelling or gain extra weight. Pregnancy only makes us crave exotic foods-" she gasped and slapped Jun on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Jun wrenched her shoulder away and scowled at Anna.

"Sorry," Anna said as she bit her lip. "Exotic is a good E word." She continued to walk.

"It's a good word, but does it really make sense in this-"

"Stop raining on my parade, Jun." Anna gave her a look that Jun had only seen during Anna's tournament fights. "But as I was saying, pregnancy has never made any of the women in my family enormous, it just makes our boobs bigger and our asses curvier, it's a sort of enhancement." She gasped again, Jun flinched when it looked like she was going to slap her again, but Anna pulled her hand back just in time. "Sorry. Enhanced...that is the word I was looking for… E is the best letter." She finished with a satisfied sigh and a dreamy look in her eyes.

Anna Williams pregnant. Why? There were so many deserving women who tried for years to have a baby and were never able to know the joy of being a mother and here was Anna… Jun sighed and let her shoulders droop. She was being judgmental again.

"There are so many things that I have to change, that _we_ have to change, I mean, Lee isn't perfect either." Anna stepped in front of Jun causing her to stop. "I need to ask you something and it's very important so I need you to think and to be really honest."

She didn't like the accusatory tone but decided to comply. She knew that the food was getting cold and wanted to get home as soon as possible. "What is it?"

"Have you seen any cigarette butts around your house?"

"What?" Jun sighed and looked at her watch. "No."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. I've never smoked in my life."

"Not you, but Lee did...or does." Anna frowned for a moment. "I know that he quit but I think he still does it when he's under too much stress."

"Well, if he's trying to quit and he only smokes once in a while-"

Anna pointed at Jun. "Don't make excuses for him."

Jun shrugged. "I just don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is that if he's been smoking he has not been upholding his end of the deal."

"What deal?"

Anna shifted her eyes toward the cloudless sky. "I promised him that if he stopped smoking I would stop...you know...shooting people."

Jun gaped at her for the second time in less than an hour. "...That's really not the same…"

Anna crossed her arms and frowned at Jun. "Secondhand smoke kills, Jun."

_Not as much as bullets._ Jun kept her thought to herself figuring that it was unwise to make a pregnant assassin angry.

"Don't look at me like that, it's a scientific fact. I will have none of that around my baby." Ana protectively placed a hand over her stomach.

"I doubt Lee would ever smoke around a baby."

"Of course," Anna sighed, "I shouldn't be so hard on him...motherhood is changing me."

_You've known you're pregnant for like twenty minutes!_ Jun wanted to yell but smiled instead. "Shall we continue?" She gestured forward.

Anna smiled and began to walk. "This going to be the most beautiful baby that has ever existed, can you imagine both of our good looks combined?" Anna clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Can you imagine a little girl with blue eyes and silver hair? Oh, my god, oh, my god," she sighed, "Scarlet, I'll name her Scarlet."

Jun thought it was a somewhat cute name, not great by any means, but she realized that she had expected Anna to come up with a ridiculous name. As she saw her smile and the genuine joy on her face, Anna's enthusiasm began to rub off on Jun, it had to be a very cute baby, it almost seemed genetically impossible for her or him to be anything but. "What if it's a boy?"

"Lee can name him, he's got amazing taste in everything from clothing to decor to wine so I'm sure-" She suddenly gasped and slapped Jun on the shoulder again.

"Ow! What the…" Jun stopped when she saw the dreamy look on Anna's face.

"... _Merlot_ …"

"For Lee?" Surely even someone like Anna knew that she should not drink alcohol while pregnant. "Um...we don't have a place that sells fancy wine here, so if you want to buy Lee some merlot you're better off going to Miyanoura or-"

"No," Anna scoffed, "for the baby."

"What?"

"We'll name the baby Merlot. It's Lee's favorite wine, it's scarlet colored and I'm known as Lightning Scarlet." Anna raised her arms and looked up into the heavens as she spun slowly. "It all comes full circle." She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "It's the perfect name for my perfect baby boy."

They walked in silence for a short while, there was suddenly a heavy feeling in the pit of Jun's stomach when her house came into view. She looked at Anna who wore a serious expression.

"Wait, Jun," Anna said as she stopped and looked down at the sidewalk.

"What is it?"

Anna sighed and gave Jun a look of sympathy. "We'll be going back to New York tonight."

Jun tried and failed to keep the disappointment from her voice. "Why?"

"I can't have my child's father in danger." There was a protective edge to her voice that Jun had never heard before. "As long as he's in Japan he's in danger, _we're_ in danger."

Jun understood Anna's sudden change of heart, if she were in her place she would want the same thing, to keep her loved ones safe, but Lee was her only hope. "Can you please just wait a few days?" She didn't want to be selfish but she knew that she desperately wanted what Anna had… Without Lee, she had no hope, no way of getting Kazuya back. "Just until we have a plan or when he finds someone who can help me, or-"

"The longer we stay here, the more likely Heihachi is to find out, I won't risk that, and as soon as I tell Lee the news neither will he." She gently put her hand on Jun's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I care about Kazuya, I really do, he always trusted me and treated me with respect but…"

"What about your sister?" Jun tried one last desperate attempt to reason with her. "You're just going to leave her-"

Anna removed her hand from Jun's shoulder and shook her head. "If Kazuya isn't enough to make me stay…" She continued to walk.

Jun felt the knot in her throat, that dull ache that reminded her how powerless she was, that mocked her for having hope in the first place. She frowned deeply and blinked several times to keep the tears from rolling down her face. When she reached the little, iron gate, she felt anger flame inside her as she saw that it was wide open.

"I asked you to close the gate!" She turned and yelled at Anna who was a few steps behind her. "You don't even have enough sense to respect other people's property!"

"I closed it," Anna said sounding irritated.

Jun shook her head. "Whatever. Leave it open, who cares? All I need is for that dog to come in and ruin my plants." It was such an out of character thing to say that she almost felt guilty, but the persistent ache in her throat reminded her that she should be angry.

She became angrier still when she reached the steps and saw that her front door was open, but immediately felt her heart began to drum in her chest when she felt that something was wrong. She could see a chair on it's back on the floor. Her anger forgotten she turned back to look at Anna who had a worried look on her face.

"What is that?" Anna asked pointing at the halfway open door. "It wasn't here before."

Jun saw what Anna was referring to a note taped to the front of the door. With heavy footsteps, she walked up and reached for the piece of paper.

_Miss Williams,_

_I did promise him that if he ever set foot in Japan he would suffer the same fate as his brother. Out of respect for your father and the business relationship that we once had, I give you the opportunity to move on with your life. Do not be fool enough to retaliate, this has nothing to do with you._


	5. The Five Stages of Anna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't get on Anna's bad side, and if you do, hide the butter knives.

**Stage 1: Denial**

Jun sat next to Anna not knowing what to do. Watching the normally fiery and boisterous woman sitting on the couch rubbing her arms as if she were cold and with a look of utter helplessness in her eyes was in a way, worse than waking up every morning knowing that she would never see Kazuya again. In that very moment, Jun Kazama felt something worse than loss, she was overcome by an agonizing sense of guilt. She was responsible for separating two lovers and depriving a child of a father. Three lives had been ruined because she had been selfish enough to want what they had.

She picked up the fallen chair and scanned the living room one more time, there was no other sign of a struggle, everything was as she'd left it. She didn't know what to say to Anna, she wanted to offer her a blanket or some tea but was afraid of how she would react. She went to the kitchen and put the tea kettle on anyway, she wanted to be away from Anna just so she wouldn't have to look at her and feel the guilt gnawing at her, but as she found herself alone she immediately felt the urge to cry. It was not the time for tears, she didn't get to shed tears, that was Anna's right. She went back into the living room and finally decided to speak.

"Can I make you some tea or get you some food?" Stupid, useless offers, but at least it was something.

Anna stopped rubbing her arms and looked up at her. "Sometimes men don't feel ready for a child, they panic because they're convinced that their life is going to change for the worse and they just...take off." Jun sat on the couch next to her feeling a knot in her throat and a tightness in her chest. "Maybe this is an elaborate ruse because he doesn't want to deal with the responsibility." The look in Anna's eyes told Jun that she wanted to believe it, that she desperately wanted Lee to be anywhere but where they both knew he was.

"Anna," Jun took Anna's hand and spoke gently, "he doesn't even know you're pregnant."

"I know," Anna opened her right hand and looked at the crumpled note, "I shouldn't have left him alone. I knew this was going to happen and I let him come anyway."

"If he really wanted to come I don't think you could have stopped him."

Anna shook her head. "I could have, I've suspected that I'm pregnant for a week but I didn't do anything because I was too scared to find out and now we're all paying the price. I should just have taken the damn test and we'd be safe in New York right now and I'd be interviewing expensive nannies instead of worrying about Merlot growing up without a father." She shook her head and stood up. "Now I'll have to hire a male nanny so Merlot can have some sort of a positive male role model because I'm sure as hell not going to let Paul Phoenix anywhere near my little boy!"

"Paul Phoenix?"

"But nannies aren't permanent, they start out young and single and aimless but soon they find love or figure out their goals and my little boy will be left behind and he'll ask me why he doesn't have a daddy and I'll have to tell him that it's my fault because I didn't take a pregnancy test in New York and he'll turn to a life of crime because I'll be his only role model!" Anna covered her face with her hands. "I should have told Lee, I'm the one responsible for this mess."

**Stage 2: Anger**

Jun gently patted her on the shoulder. "It's not your fault, how could you have known-"

Her head snapped up as she looked at Jun with fire in her eyes. "I'm part of the problem! I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to keep him safe, to make sure that Heihachi didn't harm him. "

"Anna, you can't take on that burden, Heihachi is the one to blame, he's the one who-"

The look in Anna's eyes suddenly changed to one of determination and her gaze shifted toward the door as her jaw tightened. "I'm going to kill Heihachi…"

Jun felt her mouth go dry. "What?"

Anna's tone was low and dark. "I'm going to break into his building, wait for him in his office and put a bullet through his skull."

"You can't do that."

Anna nodded. "You're right, I need a gun first."

Jun shook her head vigorously. "Anna, you will never even get through the front door-"

"Then I'll do it somewhere else," she put her hand over her stomach, "he's ruining my life, this was supposed to be the happiest day of my life…"

"I'm sorry," Jun patted her gently on the back, "I feel horrible. If I had known this was going to happen…"

**Stage 3: ~~Bargaining~~ Misdirected Anger**

"You..." Anna looked Jun in the eye. "You  _should_  feel horrible." Jun felt her heart sink but managed to hold her gaze, it was terrifying. "You're the one who told Lee that ridiculous story about angels and demons."

"It's not ridiculous, it happened, he witnessed it, I didn't tell him anything."

Anna shook her head. "You're the one who called him in the middle of the night telling him that his brother was alive, practically forcing him to come here even though you knew that you were putting him in danger, that he risked losing his life just by coming here."

Jun looked down at the floor, it was true, everything was her fault. She felt her eyes well up with tears. "I'm sorry."

"I could kill you right here and now." Anna's voice took on a macabre tone. "It would be easy."

Jun had to think about what Anna said for a moment before it could register. When her mind grasped the true meaning, she looked at the former assassin and saw those crystal-blue eyes piercing into her. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't and her heart began to race. She swallowed and tried to come up with a response. "...I...Don't think it would be easy...I did beat you at the tournament."

Anna straightened her posture, she was shorter than Jun but somehow managed to look down at her. "Is this a good time to bring that up, Jun Kazama? Do you think this is a good time to remind me that you handed me my ass in front of the entire planet?" Jun opened her mouth to speak, but again, nothing came out. "And that was in a  _clean_  fight, with the world as witness." She took a step forward and Jun automatically took a step back. "I could kill you with a butter knife while you sleep," she gestured toward the end table next to the couch, "I could shatter that vase on your head to distract you then strangle you with that  _stupid_  macrame from your hanging plant. I can do more than hand you your ass, I can hand you your still-beating heart..." She put her hand lightly on her stomach. "But I won't, Lee wouldn't appreciate it and the last thing I need is for him to pick up smoking again now that he's going to be a father."

"That's...good…" Jun managed to say, though she felt no relief.

**Stage 4: ~~Depression~~ Reckless Anger**

"Where do you hide your weapons?" Anna asked as she looked around the room.

"My...weapons?"

"That's what I said." Anna made her way toward Jun's bedroom.

"W-where are you going?" Jun called after her.

"To look for weapons." She opened the door and turned on the light. When Jun entered the room she saw her rummaging through the closet.

"I don't have weapons. What are you going to do with weapons?"

Anna stopped looking through the closet and abruptly turned toward Jun. "Are you lying to me?" She advanced slowly toward her. "If you are lying to me…"

"I'm not," Jun responded exasperatedly. "Do you really think I'm the type of person who would have weapons?"

Anna focused her eyes on something behind Jun. "No." She walked out of the bedroom with determined steps.

Jun followed her into the living room and watched her pick up the phone. "Who are you calling?" She didn't know why but she had the urge to keep her away from the phone.

"I'm going to call my contact in Tokyo."

"Why?"

"To get weapons." Anna sighed in frustration and hung up the phone. "My address book…"

"Anna," Jun stood in front of Anna blocking her way, "why do you need weapons?"

"To kill Heihachi Mishima, weren't you listening earlier? How else am I going to get Lee back?" She moved to get around Jun but she sidestepped and blocked her way. "Get out of my way," Anna said through clenched teeth.

Jun had to look down at the floor to avoid looking into Anna's eyes, that woman was the most frightening person she had ever encountered. "Sorry." She moved out of Anna's way to let her through, as soon as she had her back turned, Jun rushed to the phone. She moved the end table out of the way and took hold of the white cable from the telephone jack and pulled as hard as she could. The cable was ripped out of the wall, she could see four thin, multi-colored wires protruding at the broken end.

"What the hell did you just do?" Anna's low and menacing voice gave her goosebumps.

She turned around to face the enraged woman, she had her address book in hand and stood in what strongly resembled a fighting stance.

"You can't kill him," Jun began in an attempt to reason with her, "you're pregnant."

"Pregnancy doesn't affect your trigger finger." Anna shook her head. "I should have expected this from a coward like you." She walked back to the bedroom, but not in defeat she seemed determined. And that was when Jun saw it, Lee's cellular phone under the TV stand.

_That's what she's looking for._

Jun moved quickly and picked up the cell phone from the floor.

"Give it to me." She froze at the sound of Anna's voice.

Jun turned slowly and faced Anna. "No." She spoke softly, yet resolutely. "If I give it to you, you're going to do something you'll regret later."

Anna clenched her fists. "If you don't give it to me, I'll do something you'll regret right now." She stretched out her right hand expectantly. "Give it to me."

"No, I'm taking the battery out."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Are you my mom? Give it to me!" She moved forward so quickly that Jun yelped and jumped backward as Anna swung her arms forward trying to grab her. "Jun, don't make me hurt you." Anna moved to the left trying to get a hold of Jun but she moved to the right, Anna moved to the right and Jun to the left. It was an awkward and dangerous, dance it lacked any of the grace that the two women possessed. Their dance had taken them near the front door, Jun put her hands up in surrender giving Anna a second of pause, Jun took the opportunity to open the door and run. "Get back here, you damn squirrel!" She heard Anna yell as she jumped off the steps and ran toward the gate. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she needed to put as much distance as possible between herself and the wrathful assassin.

Jun closed the gate hoping to slow Anna down and ran toward town. When she looked behind her she gasped as she saw Anna jump the fence like it was nothing and race toward Jun.  _Oh, my God, in those heels?_  It was unnatural, no human being should have been able to move so fast in such uncomfortable footwear.

Jun saw the throngs of tourists and locals enjoying the festivities. She looked over her shoulder again and could not believe it; Jun was fit, fast and one of the best martial artists in the world, yet she was about to be outrun by a pregnant woman in high heels. Knowing that it was hopeless she instinctively took her fighting stance, quickly remembering, again, that Anna was pregnant and that there was no possible situation in which she would hit her, Jun panicked and threw the phone as far as she could. It landed in some shrubbery a good distance away, but she couldn't see exactly where. Rather than taking her fighting stance, she closed her eyes and braced for impact.

"Ow!" Jun opened her eyes when she felt Anna yank on her hair as she whizzed by.

"You idiot!" She heard her yell from somewhere among the crowd.

Jun stood there not knowing what to do, not knowing where Anna could be going. She looked at the faces of the smiling revelers and immediately resented them even though she knew that they didn't deserve it. It wasn't their fault that she had lost the man she loved and was responsible for Anna losing hers, it wasn't their fault that she had lost track of a pregnant woman and that she desperately needed to find her before she did something reckless.

_She's looking for weapons,_  Jun reminded herself. She walked hurriedly when she realized that Anna was undoubtedly trying to find a way off the island. The port was too far to walk and it being nearly six in the afternoon meant that the airport was closed. The only logical place was the closest dock, there was always the possibility that someone could take her to Kagoshima in a private boat. Jun moved as quickly as she could through the throng of tourists and locals, once the crowd began to thin she began to run down the street toward the beach. She saw Anna standing near the dock, she was easy to spot in her red dress. She was pointing at the fishing boats tied to the dock and speaking to an older man, he shook his head slowly as he gestured toward two younger men tying a small, tarnished motor boat to the dock cleat. Anna moved resolutely toward the two men, Jun moved quickly wanting to catch up with her.

"Anna!" Jun called after her, when she heard her, Anna changed her pace to a speed walk her heels thudding on the wooden surface.  _How is she so fast in those?_  Jun ran past her and stepped between her and the men on the dock. "Please don't go, you'll regret it."

"You'll regret not moving out of my way." The look in those blue eyes told her that it was not an idle threat.

Jun racked her brain trying to find a different approach. "What's the plan?"

Her question seemed to catch the determined woman off guard, she stopped and looked at Jun. "What?"

"Tell me your plan, maybe I can help."

"I'm going to Tokyo to get what I need." The men left their boat and began walking away. "Wait!" They stopped to look at her. "I need to get to Kagoshima."

"Port's that way." One of them pointed east and they continued to walk toward the beach. "Wait, I have money." They stopped and looked at her with interest.

Jun shook her head. "No, she doesn't." Jun heard one sigh as they turned their backs on them. The fire in Anna's eyes made her take a small step back, but she tried her best to stare the woman down, it wasn't working. "You don't have your purse and I don't have my wallet."

Anna took a step toward her. "You can't stop me, I'll find a way off this island."

"To do what? What's your plan? I was serious when I said I wanted to help you."

Anna crossed her arms tightly under her chest. "To get Lee back and Kazuya too since you're obviously useless."

Jun shrugged hoping to look nonchalant. "That means what? Going to your contact to get weapons, then killing Heihachi Mishima?" Anna's jaw tightened as she stared daggers at Jun. "He obviously didn't come here himself, and I can promise you that he doesn't walk the streets alone either. You're going to break into his building? Really? He's doubled the guard since he took over, trust me, I walked in front of that building enough times to know that. You think I didn't want a chance to confront him after what he did to Kazuya?" Jun looked down, ashamed that she had revealed that part of herself, but quickly looked up at Anna again. "You said that motherhood is changing you, you were ready to protect your child from his father's imaginary second-hand smoke and now you're going to put him in harm's way?" Jun shook her head slowly, Anna was looking at something in the distance, obviously trying to avoid Jun's eyes. "What would Lee say if he knew that you're risking his son? If motherhood is truly changing you, you will walk back to the house with me so that we can come up with a plan together a  _real_  plan that doesn't involve risking your baby's life, or yours, because at this point, if you don't make it, neither does he."

Anna turned around and began walking away from the dock. Jun could not remember a time when she felt more relieved, she realized how fast her heart was racing and as she looked down at her hands, she saw that they were shaking. The two women walked in silence moving swiftly between the revelers, Jun tuned out the voices of the crowd, she kept her eyes on Anna and stayed a few feet behind her. It was dusk when they arrived at the house, it felt like the longest day of Jun's life, it was difficult to believe that only twelve hours earlier Jun, Anna and Lee had eaten breakfast together.

Anna went into the house and left the door open behind her, Jun followed her inside and when she moved to close the door she saw that her hand was still shaking. She realized that their confrontation was not the cause. She had promised Anna that they would come up with a plan to find Lee and Kazuya but she had absolutely no idea what that plan would be. If she'd had any clue as to what to do or who to ask for help, she would never have dragged the young couple into their current predicament. Jun turned around and panicked when she didn't see Anna but was relieved to see that the bathroom door was closed. A minute later she watched her walk out.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jun asked, wanting to be helpful but at the same time hoping to talk about anything that wasn't the plan.

Anna turned toward the hallway. "I'm going to bed." Jun watched her until she went into her bedroom and closed the door.

At least she didn't have to worry about her escaping through the window. All her windows were equipped with near industrial strength screens, they had cost more than most people were willing to spend but in Jun's opinion, a mosquito free home was worth almost any price.

Jun sat on the couch for over an hour with the television on and the volume off. She was hungry but the thought of food made her nauseous, she was tired but didn't want to leave the living area afraid that Anna would sneak out of the house. She tried to think of a plan, but her mind was frustratingly blank. She stared at the silent images on the TV until she caught herself nearly falling asleep. Anna had been in her bedroom for more than two hours and she had not heard a sound, Jun figured that she had fallen asleep and that it was safe for her to do so as well. Not wanting to risk it, she walked into her bedroom and opened the closet. Jun was an avid camper and always kept her sleeping bag close by, she pulled it out of the top shelf in her closet then quickly changed into a pair of pink pajama pants and a tank top. After brushing her teeth she put her sleeping bag on the floor next to Anna's door and settled into it. If the former assassin tried to do something reckless, she'd have to literally walk over her to get out the door. Jun closed her eyes and prayed to Buddha, to Angel and to whatever Spirit Guides were listening, to help her dream up a plan.

**Stage 5: ~~Acceptance~~ Focused Anger Resulting in Crazy-Ass Plan**

Jun dreamt of camping, of chilly mornings under a canopy of trees, of sleeping on the soft earth, leaves, and moss. She dreamt of the black sky dotted with glittering stars, of constellations changing to silly shapes like squares and hearts-

_I will hand you your still-beating heart._

Jun gasped as she sat up straight and look around through bleary eyes expecting to see Anna holding a butter knife. She didn't see her, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw that the door to Anna's bedroom was open. Jun wiggled out of the sleeping bag and stood up, she looked into the bedroom and found it empty. Her heart and her mind began to race as she wondered where Anna could be, what she could be doing, and how in the world had she left the room without waking her up.

"I'm in the kitchen!" She heard Anna chirp.

Anna's cheerful tone sent a chill up her spine. She sounded happy, much too happy, like someone in a horror movie who was trying to lure their unsuspecting victim into a trap. Ignoring the feeling of fear but remaining on high alert, Jun carefully walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see Anna sitting at the table, taking a sip from a steaming mug.

Anna smiled. "Good morning." Jun immediately noticed that the smile did not touch her eyes.

"I...didn't think you'd be up already."

Anna sipped her tea and slowly set the mug on the table then straightened in her seat. "You know what they say...the early bird can murder the worm in its sleep." Jun let out an involuntary gasp, Anna laughed her beautiful, twinkling laugh, it was downright terrifying. "Don't worry, you're not the worm."

"O-oh," Jun laughed nervously, "of course not. How did you leave the room without waking me?"

"Through the window."

"Those screens are nearly as strong as metal bars how did-"

"Nearly. Give me a bobby pin and a nail file and I can break out of almost anywhere, I'm a trained assassin, remember?"

"I didn't forget."

Anna ran her hands over her thighs, smoothing down her blue robe,  _Jun's_  blue robe.  _How in the world did she get into my room?_  "If you got out through the window, why was your door open?"

"I just wanted to mess with you a little."

"That's mean."

Anna shrugged. "What makes you think I'm nice." She sighed. "Look, I may have gone a little overboard yesterday with some of the things I said, I would never kill you...unless I had to. The thing I said about handing you your heart," she looked around, "don't tell anyone this, but I've never actually tried it, in theory, it seems like it would work but-"

"Despite that, and everything else," Jun spoke quickly, desperate to change the subject, "I'm glad you're not angry anymore."

Anna looked Jun in the eye. "Oh, I am angry, I've never been more angry in my life, but I'm using that anger for something constructive." She gestured toward the counter next to the refrigerator. "I made breakfast, you should eat before we talk."

All Jun saw was a box of cereal and a jug of milk that was nearly empty. "If you want something more substantial I can cook something for you, you should be eating healthy. I can make you an omelet or some fried eggs."

"You're out of eggs."

"No, I have close to a dozen-"

Anna spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm eating for two now, you're  _out_  of eggs."

"Oh," Jun nodded as she saw the dirty pan on the stove. "Anna, honestly, the suspense is making my stomach turn into knots and I can't eat anything, so can we please just talk now?"

Anna sighed. "You  _are_  a Nervous Nelly." She shook her head. "Fine have it your way, I'll tell you right now, but if you faint I'm not helping you up and if you have to throw up you'd better leave my sight immediately or I swear to God-"

"Just tell me what it is, I can handle it."

"I'm going to take over the Mishima Zaibatsu, and you're going to help me."


End file.
